I like Soderberg a ton. He seems to always be igniting offense. I like the way he plays on the boards. He seems to have a natural sense of where to be in the offensive zone, with the ability to make strong plays all over the offensive zone. But, He seems somewhat deficient defensively, atleast by Bruins standards. I haven't heard it talked about but he seems to trail the play alot.

If or when Ericsson comes back I,d love to see a line of Soderberg-Spooner-Ericsson. I never expected 34 to be as good as he is in front of the crease,along the boards & the PP move he has is excellent! Did Jeff Ward actually put that to use? 3 good options from that low position. Hope Soderberg continues to progress, hes got a chance to be real good.

Soderberg has 20 points in 34 games, playing with a revolving door of linemates. I think with his floating style, he appears to be a greater defensive liability than be actually is. He's intercepted a lot of passes in the defensive zone, worked hard along the boards and made some good plays in transition coming out of our end.

In the offensive zone, his passing has been, at times, absolutely brilliant and he's been a big part of the improved play of the B's second power play unit. I also like the fact that Soderberg's tendency is to drive for the front of the net and he doesn't mind staying and taking abuse if it means creating a scoring opportunity.

I know not everyone is sold on Soderberg (Shupe etc)...I guess I'm not sure what else they expect out of a 3rd line guy who's played in less than 40 NHL games. Hags made the comment that "Behind the B" should do a feature on Soderberg as there is much more going on here than meets the eye. I hope they do it.

I think Soderberg has figured out where he needs to be in the cycle down low offensively. He also has been doing a better job of shielding the puck with his back to the defender. His passes have been quicker and on the tape, he doesn't hesitate. Soderberg is a big lug of a frame to move out from the crease as well.

Progressing well and if he has defensive lapses CJ is the coach to have for corrections.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Julien mentioned the return of Eriksson and pretty much left the door open for him to start on the 3rd line to "get his feet under him". He cited Smith's play and Kelly's injury as a major factors in letting Eriksson work his way back up to his full potential on the 3rd line instead of making him a 2nd line starter right away. So looks like we all might get our wish of a Eriksson-Spooner-Soderberg 3rd line. Holy moly that's such an improvement over last year! I love what those three might do in the regular season, and there's no reason why they can't swap Eriksson and Smith down the road if a little shake-up is needed.

Plus, Kelly on the 4th line with Paille and Campbell when he gets back? Yes please. Crazy deep team! Soderberg, Smith and Spooner are all filling their roles incredibly well and making this all happen.

Julien mentioned the return of Eriksson and pretty much left the door open for him to start on the 3rd line to "get his feet under him". He cited Smith's play and Kelly's injury as a major factors in letting Eriksson work his way back up to his full potential on the 3rd line instead of making him a 2nd line starter right away. So looks like we all might get our wish of a Eriksson-Spooner-Soderberg 3rd line. Holy moly that's such an improvement over last year! I love what those three might do in the regular season, and there's no reason why they can't swap Eriksson and Smith down the road if a little shake-up is needed.

Plus, Kelly on the 4th line with Paille and Campbell when he gets back? Yes please. Crazy deep team! Soderberg, Smith and Spooner are all filling their roles incredibly well and making this all happen.

I agree asmaha, last year chicago had 4 solid lines. Personally i dont touch the top two lines. Loui on the 3rd line gives us major depth and less pressure on him. I still would reward him with pk/pp duties. If our 4th line is kelly paille campy thats pretty darn solid. My fear is that ST is gonna get in there and mess that nice thought out.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

Smith deserves his spot there with bergie march. Loui is almost like a deadline deal add now. Slot him on the 3rd. Leave the top 2 lines. They get better each game.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

No there isn't & you need 4 lines to win. If Paille & Campbell don't play the way they did last year the B's may not have made it as far as they did. But, CJ isn't going to have Eriksson on the 3rd line for longer than 10 games. Unless Smith is on a 40 goal pace, which he isn't- there's no stinkin way he's going to take away ice time from Eriksson. Not for the rest of the season. Smith has been a blessing in disguise, but he's no Eriksson yet. IF Eriksson finds a great groove with Spooner & Soderberg? Maybe, but I won't hold my breath.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

Smith deserves his spot there with bergie march. Loui is almost like a deadline deal add now. Slot him on the 3rd. Leave the top 2 lines. They get better each game.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

I disagree, I thought Loui was starting to connect in those last few games before his last concussion. Loui does a lot of good things that tend to be overlooked.

Nite, i don't think its a matter of if he does or doesn't deserve it, i think its a matter of who has had the most chemistry & success on Bergy's line and that without question has been Smith. Now after Loui gets back and he plays awhile with King Carl & Spooner and shows nothing then you might look at making a change. Loui can still take regular shifts on the PP but for now Smith has to stay on the second line. Also other adjustments will have to be made when Kelly gets back.

Smith and Soderberg have shown some great chemistry (with measurable results) both as linemates and on that second power play unit. Tough problem to have choosing between Smith and Eriksson. Personally, I'd like to see the Swedes with the kid on the 3rd line for awhile. For some reason I can really see this thing coming together. Having Loui's defensive skills on the ice with Soderberg and Spooner might help Claude sleep a bit easier as well.

I forgot to mention how much I liked him on the power play. I have been surprised by the speeed with which he acclimated. I like his chemistry with Spooner, and I love that Bergeron skates with them on the power play. I am not as certain that his ceiling is far off however, because he is already 28 years old. If he improves getting back I would think he would be the first man up if a top 6 wing were injured.

I also look forward to seeing him with Erickson and Spooner, I hope Loui is 100% and ready to thrive, I think that could be fun to watch. I imagine eventually or at least situationally Kelly would be replacing Spooner for defensive purposes.

If this happens it won't be for very long. Eriksson isn't going to be on the 3rd line in Boston. No different when Horton came back. As NAS said in a previous post. Louie Eriksson isn't a 3rd liner on any team in the NHL. He won't be in Boston either.

Think Horton is a diff story he had good chemistry with Luc and Krec Loui never had any playing with Berg and Marchand ,no way you can take Smith off that line,so he has to go to third line,lets just hope everbody is healthy and stays healty,nothing wrong with having 3 good lines.

Smith deserves his spot there with bergie march. Loui is almost like a deadline deal add now. Slot him on the 3rd. Leave the top 2 lines. They get better each game.

And Eriksson doesn't?

Not as much as Smith. Loui needs to hide under the radar on a 3rd line. Smith has played great with march n bergie.